Producer Matthew Green of Nicholson Green Productions announces the release of the cast album of Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera], recorded live at the Lowry in Salford. The album is released today, Thursday 1 May, on the anniversary of the 1997 General Election and in memory of Steve Brown.
All proceeds from the album will go towards Pulmonary Fibrosis research at Imperial College London in memory of Steve Brown, who died in February 2024.
The album features songs such as I’m Gonna Be Somebody, Kill the Infidel, Bombs Away, and Macroeconomics. It is produced and mixed by Richard Brooker, mixed at Brookspeare Music Studios, edited by assistant engineer Nick Lodge, and recorded by Bertie Pugh, with musical supervision and arrangements by Oli Jackson.
The actors featured on the album are Jack Whittle, Howard Samuels, Tori Burgess, Phil Sealey, Martin Johnston, Rosie Strobel, Sally Cheng, Emma Jay Thomas, and William Hazel. The musicians are Tara Litvak (musical director and keys), Harry Bent (drums), Harry Weeks (guitar/bass), and John Gregson (guitar sample on Be Somebody).
Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] opened in April 2023 at the Leicester Square Theatre, before embarking on a UK Tour from May to October 2023, including four weeks at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in association with Pleasance.
The musical tells the story of how one man went from peace-loving, long-haired hippy and would-be pop star to warmongering multimillionaire in just a couple of decades. Throw in a stellar cast of larger-than-life characters – Cherie Blair, Princess Diana, John Prescott, Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell, Osama bin Laden, George W Bush, Saddam Hussein, and Gordon Brown – it’s Yes, Minister meets The Rocky Horror Show and a musical like no other.
Harry Hill and Steve Brown said, when the musical was first announced, “It’s a show for Tony Lovers and Haters everywhere – and everyone in between – don’t expect a history lesson – in our world Tony’s born singing and dancing, Saddam Hussein is played as Groucho Marx and Gordon Brown occasionally turns into the Incredible Hulk – let’s just say all the facts are there… but not necessarily as they occurred!”
More information can be found here.
